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Mother Nature can be Cruel...

11/12/2015

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Last Friday I was finally taken off of bed rest, but still on limited activity. Since then, I have been making rounds every few hours to check on the piglets. From what I have read, the first 72 hours are the most critical to watch for weak piglets and intervene if possible. I tried to prepared for this by getting a heating mat, heat lamps, as well as piglet formula and bottles just in case.

On Friday, Nick went to feed the pigs when he got home from work late and noticed one of the piglets seemed weak. He came in to tell me and I sent him out with a towel to bring it in the house, while I prepared a bottle for it. Natasha decided that she was having none of this and would not let Nick get the piglet. Sadly, the next morning we found its body and Nick had to bury it.

Sunday, we ear notched all of the remaining piglets and sent off their registrations. At this point, they were all putting on weight and running around the pasture with mom, so we thought they were in the clear. Last night, I went again to check on them and found the littlest boy laying in the straw by himself while the others nursed and I knew it was not good. I saw that the poor thing had been accidentally stepped on by Natasha and was critically wounded.

Not being able to bear the thought of having it suffer any longer, I wrapped it in a towel and carried it out. Nick was at work and would not be home for hours, so I had to muster all my courage to try to comfort it and then put it down quickly. This is probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. It's times like this when I wonder if I have the strength to continue on with this whole raising animals thing- because I know if I do, this will not be the last time I will have to be in this type of situation, where doing the hardest thing is the most humane. It was a long and sleepless night.

This morning, I was greeting by a blue sky, sunshine and six little piglets running around the pasture after their mom tussling, rooting in the mud and rolling in the grass. It was the reminder I needed of why it is so important to do what we are doing. In traditional factory farms, these little piglets would be locked in a small crate, with a mother who was unable to even turn around and would likely never see sunshine or walk on grass. So while Mother Nature can be cruel at times, she can also be beautiful.



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The Piglets Have Arrived!

11/5/2015

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Yesterday afternoon Natasha went into labor. We had been keeping her in the barn in preparation of her farrowing, as she had started to "bag out" and show signs that the piglets would arrive soon. We thought that she was closer than she actually was and after several days of her complaining about her containment, we started letting her out in her pasture during the day and putting her back in the barn at night. We hoped she would go into labor at night and we would be able to contain the piglets with heat lamps and a creep feeder in the barn, to keep them safe and warm.

Of course Natasha had a different plan. She went into labor during the day and once she made her nest in the pig house in the pasture, she refused to budge. There is no arguing with a 350 pound pig in labor. So I sat with her for a little while in the pig house, while she labored, trying to comfort her. This was a new experience for both of us and being more than nine months pregnant myself, I was filled with a bit of jealousy and a rather frightening glimpse into my near future!

After several hours of labor, she managed to deliver a litter of eight spunky piglets, two boys and six girls. Unfortunately, she also delivered three stillborns, which Nick buried this morning. Thankfully, she has so far been a very good mother, allowing all to nurse and walking and laying down carefully so not to crush any. Now we just have to figure out a way to get the whole family relocated into the barn.

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    Ellie
    Resident beekeeper, gardener and farmer.

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